The Lion and the Mouse-
Hi everyone! Long time no see! Sorry. It's been a long time since I last updated, I just have so much homework in AP history. You all can thank my dad for that. He made me take the class. Anyways, a lot of you wanted Riku to kiss Sora in the last chapter. Sorry! I just don't want to rush into their relationship. They have to get to know each other first. Also, some people still think my chapters are short . . . but I'm trying to make them longer! Believe me! It's just that when you type it out, It looks a lot longer on Word Perfect. However, I hate to tell you that this one's going to be a bit short . . . I'm so sorry . . .
Riku: I don't care if it is short . . . so long as I get to kiss Sora!
( Sweatdrops) Riku, what did you just hear me say?
Riku: 'Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Riku to kiss Sora, blah, blah, blah'
Riku, sing it like Michael and beat it. It's time to get on with the story! You'll never get to kiss Sora at this rate!
Riku: Oooh! Okay . I'm leaving! I hear ' kiss Sora' and I'm gone! ( Runs off clicking heels)
Sometimes I worry about him . . .
Chapter 9: Double Avenger
Sora returned to his home to see Cloud pacing outside and speaking very rapidly on his cell phone. Sora gulped as he entered the gates and stood before his older brother. " Umm . . . Hi?"
Cloud looked over at him with a shocked, yet relieved face. " See ya, Tidus. He's here." He closed his cell phone and then turned back to Sora, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Cloud planted his fists firmly on his hips and asked, "Sora, where have you been?"
Sora scratched the back of his head, trying to think of a good excuse. He couldn't tell Cloud that he was out with Riku. He would go ballistic. " Uh . . ."
" We woke up for breakfast and you weren't there," Cloud explained to him after a while. " I was calling Tidus to see if you were at his house. Dad's getting ready to call the police . . ."
Crap! Sora thought frantically. Was I really gone for that long? He smiled. Maybe it's because I stopped so much thinking about Riku . . . " Um . . ."
Just then , Setsuna emerged from the house and looked around until his eyes fell upon Sora. His face drained of worry when their eyes made contact. " Oh Sora . . . there you are! Where have you been ! I was worried sick!"
Sora just flashed him an innocent grin. " I'm sorry dad. I should have left a note. You see . . . I woke up, and the sunrise was so beautiful, so I decided to go for a walk . . ."
Cloud didn't buy his story, and when his eyes caught the glint of Sora's necklace, it only increased his suspicion. He hoped that his father wasn't so gullible.
Apparently, he was. He smiled at Sora and drew closer to ruffle his hair. " Alright son, just leave a note next time, alright?"
Sora nodded vigorously and waited for his father to retreat into the house. He let out a long sigh. Phew, close one . . . He jumped a little when Cloud stepped in front of him. His blue eyes penetrated through him, almost causing him to break down and tell the truth. Sora looked down and away. " Um . . . what is it, Cloud?"
Cloud gave him a slight shove. " Sora, you really don't think I buy that shit, do you? I mean, I'm not that stupid. Where were you really?"
Sora tried to walk away from him. " I told you, I was out for a walk."
Cloud grabbed a hold of Sora's wrist, preventing him to leave. He reached over and enclosed his fist around Sora's necklace. " Did this magically reappear around your neck, or did someone give it to you?"
Curses! Sora shouted in his head. He's got me! He gave Cloud a sheepish grin. " Someone . . . gave it to me, okay?"
" Aha!" Cloud cried, pointing an accusing fingerin Sora's face. " I knew it! You were with that bastard Riku, weren't you?"
Sora growled when Cloud called Riku a bastard. He tore his fist from Cloud's grip. " I wasn't with him!" Sora shouted. " I was walking and he was too, so he gave it back. No big deal."
Cloud's look was skeptical.
" And don't call him a bastard . . ." Sora finished quietly.
" What was that?" Cloud asked him, crossing his arms. " Were you just defending him? Sora, did he do something to you?"
Sora shot him an angry glare. " Would you stop treating me like I'm on trial or something? Jeez Cloud, mind your own freakin' business!"
Cloud was shocked that Sora had just yelled at him like that. Sure they had fights before, but Sora's tone was different when he had yelled just then. " Sora . . ."
Sora shook his head briefly before he turned and ran into the house. He was having a good morning and he wasn't about to let Cloud ruin it with his interrogating. He needed to relax-- get some breakfast and then play the piano. Maybe write a song for Riku. He smiled. Yeah . . .Riku . . .
Cloud stood outside, watching Sora's retreating figure, andclenching his fists at his sides. What really happened? He wondered. Why is he acting like they're friends? After all he did, it can't be true . . . but why would that brat give it back all of the sudden?
O00oo00O
Sora sat down at his piano and lifted the cover. He lightly placed his fingers on the ivory white keys. He let his eyes fall closed as he imagined Riku's face in his mind. Before he knew it, he was composing again.
O00oo00O
Riku hobbled back into his apartment and made his way over to the couch. Slowly, he let himself fall back onto its soft cushions. The pain in his side hurt like nothing ever did before. Maybe later on, if he felt like it, he would go to the drug store and buy some pain killers. He reached for his remote and turned on the television. He had just found BET when someone knocked on the door. He tired his best to push himself up from the couch, but pain wouldn't allow it. For a moment, he wondered if it was Sora, coming back to hang out with him. In your dreams, Ri, he thought hopelessly.
" Yeah?" he called over his shoulder. " Who is it?"
" It's yo bro, Zell!"
Riku choked on his breath and began coughing. Zell couldn't see him like this! He would look like a sissy. Worst of all, he would have to tell him the truth about Flare.
Zell heard Riku coughing. " You okay in there Ri?"
" Uh . . ." Riku coughed some more. " I'm sick . . .achoo! Achoo! Don't come in bro! You'll catch it too!" Riku yelled in his best impression of someone with a cold.
He heard Zell laugh. " Come on Riku. Since when did that ever stop us? I'm coming in."
Dammit! Riku cursed himself for never locking the door, and for Zell knowing him all too well. He tried standing up again, trying to ignore the burning feeling in his side.
Before he could, Zell swung open the door and swung his head around a few times, searching for Riku. He chuckled when he spotted him on the couch, clutching a pillow over his head, andtrying his best to hide.
Zell walked over to him and playfully snatched the pillow from over his head. He giggled at Riku's disheveled hair. " Riku, bro, you need a comb or somethin'."
Riku sat up and avoided his eyes. " Hey Zell. 'Sup?"
Zell folded his arms behind his head. Leaning back, he rested his feet on the coffee table. " Came to see how much paper you got for that girly piece of ice we jacked from the Bitch."
Riku gulped and slowly pushed himself up from the couch. He was careful not to let Zell notice his pain as he did so. " I didn't get much," he told him. " And what I did get, I used it for food. We were running low anyways."
Zell laughed at him. " And the way you're acting has confirmed my other reason for dropin' by."
" What other reason would that be?" Riku asked, limping into the kitchen to get a soda.
Zell speculated him with great care and asked, " Where were you last night? I called , but your moms said you didn't come home. I got worried, bro. You don't usually do things without me."
Riku slowly closed the fridge as he thought of an excuse. It wasn't going to easy, seeing as Zell could read him like a book. Hetapped onhis soda and grinned at his friend. " I was at Vincent's," he said. " Spent the night."
Zell gazed at him with his chin resting on his arms. " Really? I don't remember anything about a sleep over . . ."
Riku popped open his soda and drank from the can nervously. Zell, why must you know everything? He wanted to say. " Zell, don't worry about it," he Decided to say instead. " You don't have to know everything that goes on with us, do you?"
Zell Stuck an eyebrow. " I guess so . . ." he said suspiciously before he rose from the couch to join Riku in the kitchen. He had been paying close attention to Riku's mannerisms and he could tell something was wrong. He gave a short smile. " Riku," he began, " Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or do I have to keep bugging you until you do? You know how annoying I can get."
Riku shrugged. " Zell, have a little faith in me, will ya?"
Zell began laughing, and Riku joined in after a while. He was sure that Zell would stop bothering him about where he was. If he had found out that he was attacked by Flare and wasfriends with Sora, he would kill him. However, Riku was positive that he had gotten away with it, until Zell nudged him hard in the ribs. What was worse, he had hit his knife wound.
Riku dropped his soda onto the floor and grabbed his side with both hands. The pain was unbearable.
Zell watched with a stern glare on his face. When Riku let his hands fall, Zell grabbed the bottom edge of Riku's shirt and pulled it over his head. He gasped when he saw the bandages. He ripped them from around Riku's waist and gazed with his mouth open at Riku's cut. Then, he slowly raised his head to be eye level with his friend. " Who did this to you?" he whispered in a sinister tone.
Riku stepped back from him and looked away. " F-Flare . . ." he murmured quietly.
Zell pounded his fist into his palm. " I knew it!" he cried in a rage. " Those mother fuckin' bastards! I'll rip their heads off!"
Riku grabbed Zell's shoulders. " Calm down!" he said. " I'm alright. I was taken care of by the best doctor ever. Don't worry about it, okay?"
Zell took a deep breath as the rage slowly diminished from his eyes. " I'm glad you're okay Ri', but this is personal now. First, they kill my big bro, and then they try to ice my best friend? I don't think so. It's on now. I'll avenge you, and Seifer"
Riku buried his face in his hand, sighing in dismay. " Don't to anything crazy, aight?"
Zell gave him a solid nod. " You got it bro. Now look, I've gotta go. You sure you're alright? 'Cause I can stay wit chu if you want."
" Nah," said Riku while shaking his head. " I'm fine. You go on ahead."
" Alright. See ya, bro." Zell and Riku shared the Oblivion handshake before the gang leader left.
Riku just stared blankly at the door after he left. " Shit," he muttered. He picked up his borrowed shirt and pulled it back over his head. He inspected his wound before pulling the shirt all the way down. He was upset that Zell had ruined Sora's beautiful bandaging. A grin parted on Riku's lips. Now he had a reason to call Sora. He went over to his phone and pulled it off of the receiver. He repeated Sora's number aloud before punching it into the phone. His heart began beating hard inside of his chest when it began ringing.
O00oo00O
Sora was sitting on his bed writing down his composed song so far when his phone rang. He reached over to his night stand, lifting the red phone to his ear. " Hello?"
" Hey Sora. It's me, Riku."
Sora felt his stomach flutter when he heard Riku's Voice. I was just thinking about you, he wanted to say, but that would probably freak him out. " Um . . . hi Riku . . . What's up?"
" I think my bandages need to be redone. Can you come . . . over again?" Riku asked.
Sora was blushing on the other line. " Um . . .okay. How about tomorrow? Think you can hold out until then? I'll need to buy some more bandages."
" Great, " said Riku, and Sora could hear the smile in his voice. " I'll see you then. Oh, and be careful. Zell is out on the prowl looking for Flare. I don't want him to run into you."
Sora drew in his breath. " You mean he found out about the incident?"
" He knows that Flare tried to ice me, but I didn't tell him it was you that saved me. But did tell him that I was taken care of by the best doctor ever." Riku said, smiling when he heard Sora giggle a bit.
" Okay, I'll be careful. Promise," he told Riku.
" Good. See ya."
"Kay. Bye!"
O00oo00O
tbc
Yaaaaaaaaaay! I'm so happy! Chain of Memories is out! I can't wait to buy it! And I won an Anime Art contest at my school! Now my drawing will get put on The Japanese Club T-shirt! Wohooooooo!
Okay, please review! See ya again in Chapter 10: Get to know me.